Magazino from Munich placed first for " The Spark " in 2018. The company developed the operating system Acros, which allows robots to be programmed, controlled and interconnected. The machines share their experiences in the cloud, helping them learn from each other. The robots are mainly used in intralogistics, where they can identify, locate and pick individual objects off the shelf and then bring them to their destination.

Vincent Systems from Karlsruhe, which placed second, specializes in medical technology. The company has developed a hand prosthesis that allows patients to move one finger at a time, thanks to a miniature robot, as well as select from among 14 different ways of gripping. In the words of the jury, the robotic hand constitutes a leap in innovation: in size and weight it is comparable to its natural role model and can also be moved intuitively by nerve-controlled muscle signals.

The drone startup Quantum Systems from Gilching near Munich took third place. It manufactures a drive that lets flying devices take off and land vertically; thanks to an intelligent autopilot, once airborne the devices switch over to a swift and economical glide, combining the advantages of helicopter drones with those of fixed-wing aircraft. According to the jury, the drones are, among other things, suitable for checking infrastructures or monitoring fields.